Eggcellent baking without eggs: Molecular Gastronomy REAL class explores vegetarian alternatives
By Youngyu Kwong, Aibhe McCann, and Hayton Wong
The Year 10 REAL class Molecular Gastronomy has been exploring sustainable cooking. Vegetarian cooking is an option that is being investigated to test its feasibility. The first project? Experimenting with eggless baking.
In baking, eggs help to give structure to the cake by allowing it to rise. Eggs also act as a thickening agent to the mixture. Eggs are less sustainable to use than condensed milk because the production of eggs leads to high levels of the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The hens producing the eggs live in an environment that can cause respiratory ailments.
There are various options available to replace eggs in a recipe, like condensed milk, vinegar, flax seeds, chia seeds and apple cider vinegar.
Students divided into groups were asked to experiment with the different replacement options at home to see if they worked. Most of them worked but to varying degrees. The class decided to bake with the option of replacing egg with condensed milk.
Condensed milk is a dairy product that is made from evaporating water from milk. The texture is thick, creamy, and viscous, which ensures it has a long shelf life and low moisture compared to milk. It is used in various ways: for example, candies, waffles, and other baked goods. Other desirable properties include its sweetness, crust colour and ability to cook without curdling in puddings and sauces.
In baked goods, eggs usually add some moisture and some thickening and binding power to a recipe, particularly in recipes where only one or two eggs is used. The condensed milk provides the thickening when it is whisked together with butter, with a frothy mixture to which flour can be added. The condensed milk also ensures you do not add any extra sugar. The protein in condensed milk replaces the protein from eggs, and it helps us build and repair muscles and bones which makes us stronger.
The recipe chosen for the test was:
Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used a 300ml can)
1/2 cup Water
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Melted Butter
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180℃ for 10 minutes
In a large bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix them together
In a separate bowl mix together the butter and condensed milk for 10 minutes
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. It will become a very thick batter.
Add water to the batter and mix well until the batter is smooth and can easily fall off a spoon
Butter a small pan in order to prevent the batter from sticking to the pan
Pour cake batter into pan and cook for 15 minutes
Poke the cake with a fork or toothpick to check it’s done
Take the cake pan out of the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack for 10 minutes
The bake; the cake! (Photo credit: Aibhe McCann)
So, does eggless cooking work? The proof was in the pudding (so to speak). The cake pictured turned out quite well. It tasted good too, not too much difference between an eggless one and normal cake.
There are a multitude of ways to bake eggless cakes. Tthis recipe just proves that condensed milk does work as a suitable alternative to eggs. Sustainable cooking can also prove to be flavourful. It is best to be a part of the solution rather than the problem. This recipe is just a small step towards encouraging people to follow eggless baking.
Bibliography:
Manning, A. (2019, June 6). Curdled butter and sugar mixtures. Bakeclub.com. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://bakeclub.com.au/blogs/q-a/curdled-butter-and-sugar-mixtures#:~:text=When%20you%20are%20beating%20eggs,making%20mayonnaise%20but%20in%20reverse
Piedmont Healthcare. (n.d.). Why is protein important in your diet? Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/Why-is-protein-important-in-your-diet